Hello All,

I knew the second day was going to be the hardest by far when I planned out my trip. The day started going up steep climbs and finally plateud. Most days started that way actually. The walk to Totaranui, the largest touristy area of the part was short and only took about two hours. I walked through the main camping areas there and saw some wonderfully extravangant tent set-ups. Kiwi’s really do love their extravagant tents.

To be honest, I have already forgotten much of the detail as today was a very touristy day. What I can tell you I will. I tramped on some more until I came to the Awaroa inlet crossing. I knew from planning that I was going to be hitting this at the highest of tides. And I did. So I spent the next 45 minutes or so exploring the coast line and watching the water continue to rise. A few minutes later another woman tramper came by and we began talking. She was a local conservationist of some kind and did the walk often. It was then that I was fortunate enough to have the DOC (Department of Convervation) Warden come through on a small boat with an outboard doing his daily cleaning rounds (there was a toilet on that end of the inlet). He was nice enough to give me a ride to the other side. His family was also on board and we had a nice little discussion.

It was then that the fun started for real. I though I was going back to normal tramping trails, so I suited up my boots. After I rounded the next bend however, I found out I was going to be walking through coastal tidal rivers. This was awesome, but tough work in bare feet with my 40+ pound pack. (I had just refilled the water). After the tidal river area it returned to normal for a bit until I came upon another inlet at water that at high tide left little to no beach. So it was back to the water (about knee to mid thigh high) for another 20 minutes or so. I then reached a small beach and found another camper asleep in the sun.

I couldn’t tell if the next little inlet was shallow enough to pass so I took my pack off at the beach and tested it. Sure enough it was and I proceeded back to wading mode. Ohhh and this entire coastline is absolutely gorgeous. There was a small development here, about 15 or so homes and a small grass field airport. There were people in boats and kayaks about and there was an amazing looking sand spit. It was absolutely positively gorgeous. My story just tends to focus on the facts, but I was having a wonderful time.

I proceeded up the trail on a fairly steep climb til I came to the top of the hill overlooking the inlet. (Aside, there used to be a pa, or defensive Maori city there). There was a bench and a Frenchman sitting there. So I had my afternoon snack of beef jerky and shared some with him while we talked for around a half hour. It was funny because we each knew the initial stereotype of each other…. that we shouldn’t get along.

I proceeded on for a couple hours til I reached the next tidal crossing. It wasn’t nearly as bad, just a small tidal river and there were some Americans going the other way so I got a little taste of home. I had forgotten how colorful out clothes are and the colloquialisms that we use. So that was nice. On the way there I had also talked to a couple from CC who were really quite nice. I wish I could describe the trail in more detail, but that is what pictures are for.

I crossed the tidal river and came onto Onopauti beach, one of the largest on the trail. In the bay was Tonga Island, a protected marine reserve, and I knew I was close. Unfortunately by that time I was wicked tired and just wanted to get settled for the night, so I didn’t spend as much time as I would have liked.

I arrived at my campsite and found that most of the spots had already been taken, but there wasn’t really a bad spot. I set up my tent using a piece of wood as one of the corners b/c of the stone left in the qquarry area. I then got my cooking stuff ready and headed down the beach.

Everynight after I finished getting set-up I, before dinner, I headed out for reflection and exploration time. I walked down to the big rocks, explored the marine life and the waves and such and then would eat my predinner snack, read a little, and think about my life. It was a wonderful time as I could watch the seagulls feeding and really center myself.

I then cooked dinner. It felt wierd because all of the other people there were part of a kayak group, and I kinda felt like an outsider. But I got over that quickly and enjoyed myself. I was envious of the amount and type of food they have (sea kayaks can carry up to 150 kilos of gear each!) and they had wine and coke and other goodies. I enjoyed my dinner of mac and cheese and watched the sunset. I got some wonderful pictures and like the night before sat out for a few hours and waited for the stars.

I slept well, but the kayakers were up later than me and made some noise. I had put my food in my sleeping bag because the aforementioned frenchman had warned me about possums. The kayakers were amused by them.

Morning went well, I cooked breakfast and was off well before even all of the kayakers were up. I think a couple of them even shagged the night before. Lol.

I continued my trip southward with a much lighter pack, (I had little water) and enjoyed the tramp. I continued and past another colony of homes at one of the beaches (I can’t remember at this time) and then proceeded towards the falls river trail. This trail was a side trail (3 hours return) off the main path. I dropped my main pack and just took my day pack. I left for that trail at about 2 in the afternoon. This trail was fun, because 1. I had a way lighter pack 2. There was nobody else on the trail 3. I got to see new scenery 4. The trail was a bit rougher. There were lots of tree roots and stream crossings and mud pits,etc. But the waterfalls will worth it as you will see in the picks. Near the end I started to worry a little about hurting myself, bc I was so far way and no one else was anywhere near me.

It was a really cool track. I returned, which seemed a lot quicker bc there was no anticipation. I then picked up my main pack and had to decide whether to wait and do a tidal crossing or take the high tide route. Thinking is was only about 30 mins longer and because I was part of the way there I took the hightide route. Little did I know it was figgin steep and a little out of the way. I struggled up that path and finally arrived at the Hut I was staying in at Anchorage Bay. BTW most of the day after 1:30 PM it looked like it was going to rain but luckally it did not.

This was the only night I stayed in the hut, like a common house, rather than tenting to get the experience. It was loud with the kids and the people were mainly kayakers again. But everything worked out well and I repeated my rituals. I went to bed a little early because I was tired and had to wake up early.

I woke up and started on the trail which was only 12k and not too terrible difficult compared to the previous days. I again treated myself to wonderful beach views and snacks and just enjoyed the whole part. I finished the trail, took a break and began to wait for the bus to be picked up. I had a nice conversation with a local and his fiance over brunch (I had chocolate cake) and then waited some more. I met another couple from MT Vic in Wellington and we talked for most of the bus ride back to Nelson.

In Nelson I hiked the hella far way to my hostel and then caught a random bus (It was a charter for someone else, but I just asked and hopped on, another learning experience). At the Hostel I also showered and shaved because I smelled like bug spray and sweat. It was glorious. I walked through Nelson, ate at Burger King amongst way to many preteens (I guess it is the hang out) tried new Kiwi sodas and called home.

I then went to the Cathedral Hill area again, had a conversation with a nice man for like an hour, I am going to meet him and his wife for dinner Near Wellington, and then went back to the Internet Cafe I had used before to do my business items. I taked with the storeowner there and he told me about the local history of the area and some of the cooler features.

I then walked back to the Hostel after getting some food from New World along a sketch stretch of road. As in I had my knife ready. It was rather dark and there were some homeless men shelters.

I read and relaxed at the hostel and then went to bed.

To Be Continued…..

Hello All,

My attempt to report on my experience doing the Abel Tasman Track. I am probably going to have to attempt this in multiple sittings and in multiple posts.

Friday morning I woke up way early. I stayed at an average hostel the night before called the Palace. I checked out of the Hostel at 6 and went to McDonalds for breakfast bc the hostel’s free breakfast was non-existant.

I caught the bus at 6:45. It was dark and a little disorienting driving through the coutnry side. It was probably a 25 seater bus with a trailer pull behind. We (there were 5) drove to some town a little while out and switched buses to a smaller minibus. There were 7 of us in a 10 seater van. We then went over the Takaka pass, which is a huge ass piece of granite with more switchbacks then days of the year. Apparantly I have motion sickness and had to make the bus pull over to do the dirty. I then sat in the front for the rest of that trip.

Before I got sick I was having a lovely conversation with two brits. I love travelling because you meet a lot of people from a lot of different places. And most people are pretty open. We then arrived in Takaka and I switched to another bus. I say I because it was only me and the driver in the largest bus I had been in yet. Probably a 30 seater. We proceeded out to the track after I got a Coke and Picnic Bar to settle my stomach. The drive took about an hour and the driver and I talked through most of it and he even showed me some extra places.

We got to the track, I was dropped off, and began after using the bathroom. My pack was very very heavy. Like somewhere above 40 pounds with water and food. I didn’t pack the best the first day and had to rearrange my pack a few times. The first climb was the highest of the track and was definetely a challenge with the weight. But it was spectacular cutting back and forth across the mountains, hearing the waves crash, the birds sing, the bees hum, and the other sounds of the forest. This was pretty much the same noise level the whole way with the occasional dominance of one of the factors. Once reaching the top of the climb, It was a level path for awhile before the descent through the cool forest to Wairirangi. I passed the first DOC hut, which was a converted homestead.

There was a beautiful beach and huge trees. It was very green. My words literally do not do it justice and you will have to see the picture I post on facebook in a few weeks. I then proceeded to climb back up about the same height (800 feet) towards seperation point. This took a few hours.

Seperation Point was a side track and I found, as with most things, that these were the most rewarding on the trail. Well maybe not most but definitely way up there. So the route there to separation Point was along a steep, narrow trail. I had to drop my pack to make the descent down to the actual point. Once there the views were spectacular. But the best part was the wildlife. I was able to eat my lunch 15 feet away from a seal. It was absolute spectacular. There were also penguins and a variety of other bird life. Once again the pictures tell the story.

I proceeded on towards my camping spot at Anapai bay. Before there though I stopped in Mutton Cove and had a quick swim. The water was beautiful, but extremely cold. I then laid out for awhile, though some more, and got bitten by sandflies. I then moved on and arrived at my camp site about 4:30.

Setting up my tent was fun and the entire set-up only took about 40 mins. The fun part about using a tarp tent is it is you can always set it up differently with different outcomes. I then walked the beach to the rocks a little while down and sat and thought and had my predinner snack, a wonderful protein bar.

I then cooked dinner on my stove, Beef Noodles or something, and went to eat it on the beach. Yes, on the beach it was wonderful. I had previously changed to my warm clothes to watch the stars. I watched the sunset and waited for the stars. I also made myself some delicious hot chocolate in my oatmores cup. A wonderful time.

I went to sleep very warm and sound and awoke the next morning to the sun. About 10 hours of sleep. I packed camp and headed out for my hardest day of tramping by far.

I will continue later as I am tired now and need to get food for tomorrow.

Hello All,

Nelson is kinda boring compared to Welly. So I am sitting in an internet cafe paying an outrageous amount for internet to write this.

First with the events. I was the last one to board the Ferry this morning as I missed the transfer bus from the rail station (it left early btw!). When I checked my bag I forgot to grab my day bag so I didn’t have my camera but it was beautiful. I spent most of my time up on the observation deck. It was very windy and there were more people on board than actually seats on the boat. I didn’t have any particular conversations as most people were families or couples.

The views were absolutely gorgeous. As we pulled out of the Wellington Harbour I looked across the water and saw the mountains and the sky and the sea and it was seriously out of a painting. I got on the bus fine, it was just outside, and had an interesting conversation with a German girl/woman (she had a ms but I am not sure how old, mid 20’s maybe???). The bus ride was good, I felt sick and had a headache for it (I haven’t ridden this far outside of the city in a while and I was tired). The views were also fantastic, not as exquisite as the ferry but still awesome!

We arrived in Nelson and I set out for my hostel. I found it easily enough, after walking the wrong way a little bit. I really felt the weight for that walk! I checked in and purchased a BBH card. The place seems really nice with good amenities, but the sound is what counts. And it has free breakfast.

I spent the rest afternoon (after 4) exploring Nelson as best I could on foot, no public transportation. I saw the Cathedral and walked through town. It is nice but small and rather quiet after 5. Make that deadly quiet as I was the only one on the street. I just ate dinner at a independent Burger place. It was venison and good along with onion rings.

This brings me to the reasoning for writing this blog. I’m gonna be honest in two ways. I may not finish because this internet ticker is fing ridiculous. $2 already. Second is the fact that I have wanted to share this information for awhile but haven’t found the time or the motivation.

It wasn’t until I started traveling again that my brain retook to the idea of interdependence. Actually it happened the other night in Welly too, but these past few days have been busy. Pretty much all my life I have been fairly independent. I really am not afraid to try new things without other people. However, recently it had clicked in my brain that I need a significant other. I really don’t know if this is maturity in my thought process, or not. I think it is.

I think it may also come from the fact that traveling is better with someone to share it with and currently I don’t have anyone to directly share this experience with. For example, when you get lost with someone else, it normally turns into a good story. When you get lost by yourself, you have to find your way out.

I understand that I have a close group of friends and family back home and you all keep me going all the time. My Dad, for his continued support in all that I do, My mom and my brother, for the continued caring and love, Holly, for her help with many things in my life, and my best friends, whom provide me endless support (even if it isn’t in straightforward ways(that one is for your Charles)). NOTE: Please don’t read too much into the specifics kthx. Yet unfortunately I don’t have anyone here to share in these wonderful experiences.

I have never really thought about needing a significant other until now. Maybe it is because I am in a fairly vulnerable place in life, but I definitely will take more initiative in looking for someone else.

So, I am not sad or complaining just saying what I truly feel. That traveling alone sometime feels like sailing a ship with the anchor down. It is still effective, but with diminished effect.

On another account, I have been thinking and reflecting a lot on how I act, how I am scripted and wanted to share a few things with you all that you may not know.

I can almost never buy something from a store the first time I go in. I have to visit multiple times before I will buy it. I think that relates to the next thing I have to say.

I often think other people are judging me. Although I know this is not true for some reason I think I am important or remarkable enough to be noticed always. I often think what other people will think of some actions, etc. I think this relates to the following.

I judge people in my mind a lot. Like all the time. I often compare people too myself. I often times see people as worse at life then me or better. I am def not assured that I am the best. Just well above average. I guess I take it that other people think about things as much as I do.

I often think about how I could have acted on a situation differently. Even for simple things I can reenact them dozens of time. I will also do this for things that will be coming up.

I often listen with the intent to respond. Although I am still pretty damn good at the listening component, I still often want to respond with something I have done, etc. I intend to work on this and think I am making strides. Let me know how I am doing.

I think I have a boring personality. Often, I would rather just enjoy quiet time at home then go to a party. I really don’t know why, if I am afraid of the social situations or not? But I like to relax quietly.

I also cannot stand hanging out with people who annoy me. I would rather be by myself than with someone who seriously annoys me. I often wonder how this works for other people, how they can hang out with multiples of people who are simply boring (cannot think beyond basic thoughts (judgement)) and even annoying.

In respect to that I do love gossip about people and things. I almost never further it on but really enjoy watching other people’s reactions once you get there backstory.

I used to think that life had a finite amount of success and that when one person was successful that another could not be. I am sorry for that and am working to change my script.

I really enjoy filling my time up with tasks. I think it is because I like to test myself and my abilities so that later I can compare others accomplishments to mine. But it also stems from a sincere want to be involved with lots of things and to improve them.

I very often blame the person in my life for some part of their bureaucracy. For example I’ll attribute some action or policy as specifically geared against me by that person rather than more rationally looking at the whole. I have very much worked to end this.

I have always gotten along with my academic advisers. I don’t know why but I always seem to get ones that have mutual understandings with me. I am very thankful for them!

I think I have bad handwriting because I didn’t want people to be able to copy my work when I was young. Like seriously kids cheat off of smart people (I had someone try to cheat on my last uni test).

I am terrible bad at relaxing in new circumstances. For example, in a new circumstance I will pretend to know more than I do or be more confident than I am. I have to discover for myself to be comfortable.

I have always found it easier to associate with older people than people my age. I couldn’t tell you why. Others tell me it is because I have an old soul, but I think it could be because most of the time they are more mellowed and less with the bullshit. This is not to say I don’t like people of my own age, but it seems easier with older people. Maybe they have less guards, maybe I see them as less of a threat????

I have never been a very religious person and certainly will not get into that. The things I do support are peoples rights to believe and not believe, and those should never be infringed upon. I also think I hold people who claim to be religious to a higher standard that in all honesty they do not deserve. I now believe the church is simply a way to an end, not an end in itself. Although it helps many people and does great things it is not the only way to live a good life.

With that being said today at the Cathedral I lit a candle for all of you back home and put a prayer on their prayer board. I understand that religion can be a great source of power for many people. I don’t really know what else to say about it.

Anyways please don’t feel obliged an any way to act as a psychiatrist for this information. I am not really sure why I did it. Maybe because I aim to have deeper, better conversations with all of. Also, I think I did it to show myself because the first step toward changing something is admitting it. I am not a crazy person, but I do believe we all have problems and if any of you ever need to talk I will do my best to be there with open ears and unconditional friendship or love, whichever you may need!

If that was too sappy for you let me know. If you enjoyed it let me know.

Anyways, tomorrow I had off to the Abel Tasman track for a 4 day 3 night tramp. I will be sure and take many pictures!

All the best,

Mathias Rost

Hello All,

Today I leave for my trip to the South Island- literally in a few hours time. My pack is very heavy :).

You can view where I will be on my google calendar:

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=minesweeper90%40gmail.com&ctz=America/New_York

So, I hope all of you are enjoying the Amazing spring weather back in the states!

All the best!
-Mathias

Hey!

So Saturday night I went to the Rugby game at Westpac stadium, nicknamed the cake pan. I sat next to a guy and his friends family so that was interesting. The game overall is more quickly paced then football and I understood most of it. I still have a problem telling what kiwi children are saying as their words are much more slurred.

In the game the Hurricanes (the Wellington team) lost in the last seconds on a penalty kick by the Sharks (From South Africa). So it was definitely interesting but both teams played rather average.

Today, Sunday I have mostly been working on scheduling my next semester at Tech, as registration opens this week. I have a volleyball game at 3 with people I don’t know in a place I am not exactly sure of (so pretty much like every other single thing I do in this country ). Later I need to test my tramping equipment and then actually do more schoolwork (taking a 3 month vacation after not having one for like 2 years was a questionable call).

So, later I intend to post some more of my thoughts (I think a ton) rather than just narration. But well see where my motivation level ends up.

Also, on Thursday I leave for my 17 day spring break. During this I will only be updating via Facebook. I intend however to post an overview of my trip afterward.

I wish all of you reading this the absolute best and hope as much as can go right is going right!

Cheers!

-Mathias

Hello All,

Sorry for the lack of response lately. Believe it or not I have actually been doing schoolwork this week! And in all actuality choosing to do other less worthwhile things with my time then sitting down and reflecting. But that is the nature of life, the conflicts between commitments and desires.

Monday afternoon was rather uneventful. As I have described before, in my Marketing class we have a notebook that we have to interview other people for. I found on Monday that others in the class had been setting up appointments like 3 or 4 classes in advance. This makes it REALLY complicated to find new people and currently my notebook looks kinda like a collage with lots of manual cutting and pasting. However the people aspect is what the Professor is really after and that part seems to be the best. I have had some really good conversations thus far.

Actually I remembered now (this is the problem with writing blogs like 5 days after). Monday was AWFUL weather wise and I actually had to grab a power pole to avoid being knocked down on the way to uni. It was crazy, but the people are rather used to it. The skies are amazing and something just out of a movie. The clouds do this swirly thing and are very dark. The gusts on Monday were up to 130 km/hr which is very fast. They are so strong that in the lectures theaters you hear them swirling around the video.

Needless to say it wasn’t a day in which you wanted to be outside, but just go back and curl up in bed. So, after Marketing, I decided to walk back through town, checked out a couple of shops, picked up season 1 of 30 Rock, and get something filling for lunch. I decided to get a kebab. It was definitely the best decision of my week, well maybe. Kebabs are kinda like burritos and euro’s mixed. They have like a bunch of veggies and either lamb, chicken, falafels (like chickpeas in a meatball), or beef. I prefer chicken, so I got a chicken one with some delicious garlic yogurt and mild chili sauce along with a more than ample serving of hot fries.

I proceeded back to the flat among the rain and howling winds and sat down at my desk to eat my lunch. It was absolutely delicious! It stayed in my stomach for literally like 8 hours. I only had a small amount of yogurt and an orange for dinner. I called Charles and chatted with Brandon on skype and then proceeded to prepare a list of what I needed to do for the week. The weather never got nicer.

On Tuesday, with my Test looming on Friday, I decided to actually buckle down and do some real studying to catch up. So after my classes and Tutorial I went to the library and studied for around 5 hours. This is something I have never done before because I usually can’t study in libraries, but I decided to make it work. I read about 70 pages of philosophy shit (just being honest, I mean it is bad), did about 90% of my International Business Portfolio thing, and read the rest of the information for my other philosophy class, which wasn’t bad. Ohh and the weather was quite nice on Tuesday, the views of the harbor from the library are amazing. They might even be the best in the city.

Wednesday was again ugly with consistent rain. I slept in and found out my flatmates were filming a video for class. I hiked (the most appropriate term) up to uni amongst the wind and rain and sat in my classes. Mark was an interesting class. TBPH I spent most of it making small talk with those around me as about 1/2 of the class was an example by the professor. After marketing I lazily made my way down to the city to go get some lunch at the Willis Street Mall. Ohh and I took the Cable Car down from the university because I really didn’t want to be blown off the bridge!

In the Willis Street Mall is this stand that makes the best fruit smoothies I have had in awhile and at reasonable prices too. Although they aren’t really healthy (fruit yes, ice cream and milk, no) they are a delicious treat and normally give me the sugar fix to get through IBUS.

I proceeded to IBUS, had a normal lecture and then went and used the school’s internet for some e-mailing and such. Back home I cooked this delicious Mexican meal with mince, onion, tomato, peas, carrots, corn, capsicoms, and some of this delicious salsa I bought at the Kilbirnie festival.

Thursday was an average day. My tutorial was good for Phil 123, it really does help the understanding of the course content. Class was ehhh. We had a new lecturer for Phil 104, the class I already didn’t like, and I had high expectations for the new lecturer. I was a little, well actually very disappointed. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and yes you shouldn’t judge people on how they dress but lecturers are supposed to win your respect before they go casual. He asked a lot of questions and told an interesting story, but it still wasn’t that interesting. However, I do have a hard time focusing on him than I did on the previous lecturer because at least I knew I would be directly tested on that material. I am really not sure what will be tested from him.

Thursday afternoon I met Mary for coffee and went over my plans for my spring (fall here) break. It is two weeks and I am planning on spending the entirety in the South Island. She gave me some amazing advice on different places, what to see and avoid, and I am planning on changing up my trip a good deal. However, most of it will depend on what travel options are available between points a and b as the entire country takes this time to vacation as well.

Thursday afternoon I decided to go to the beach for a good lay. The wind was a little strong with a nice bite to it, but I still enjoyed a good 2 hours of sunshine. Thursday night I studied for my test a little and mainly relaxed and played Civ 4. This was definitely an unproductive night.

On Friday, I went to class and then had my first test. We picked up writing handouts from the front of the room and then proceeded to sit down and fill out the normal requisite information. The questions were displayed on a projector at the front of the room (I have only received handouts in one of my classes) and proceeded to answer the questions. About 5 minutes in I found the guy next to me attempting to look at my paper, so I had to do the whole stop and cover drill to make him stop. Not that he was going to be able to read anything anyways as my handwriting is absolutely atrocious. Maybe that is why I have bad handwriting?…. Maybe….

Anyways, I continued answering the questions and finished in about 20 minutes. I either aced the test or bombed it because I thought I knew most of the answers. I left and then proceeded to the computer lab to print off some note pages. At 1:10 I went to the library to meet for my Marketing interviews. We (being myself and 3 others) spent an hour answering the questions. This put my slightly late for my IBUS workshop and also killed the time I planned to read the IBUS article. The workshop was alright, we discussed international culture, which I think is way over covered in this course.

Afterwords, I proceeded to my second marketing interview, which we planned to meet at her room in one of the dorms, Stafford House which is off of the Terrace (a God awful hill) but not too far from Pipitea campus. Our interview took about 2 hrs and I learned a lot about coffee and Swedish people. Definitely an interesting conversation.

Friday night was nothing special, I think I cleaned my room and ate leftovers.

Saturday morning was nice, i.e. I should have done my laundry. It was warm and sunny. You really couldn’t ask for a better day. I proceeded to further clean and organize my room. By this I mean throwing a lot of stuff (papers and such mostly) away because they didn’t really make a difference in my life. I then went and watched the offshore powerboats race. This was average, they seemed very noisy for NZ, but still worth seeing. They were also setting up for relay at Frank Kitts Park. I sat and ate lunch looking out at the bay and watching people walk by.

I then went to the outdoor stores Mary and Ross had told me about (they are all within like 1 block of each other for some crazy reason). They windproof jackets, and everything really seemed rather expensive. I got a collapsible day bag and a new cooker b/c they don’t sell sterno. Otherwise I walked through the city and otherwise enjoyed the beautiful day. Ohh and I bought some awesome painting I got from a street vendor! As well I had another delicious smoothie from the aforementioned guy!

Well, I am starting another post now.

Cheers!

-Mathias

Hello All,

Saturday Night was interesting. I went to the SE(Southeast) Asian Market Fair along the waterfront. There I had a variety of food ranging from delicious to awful. I had some corn-curry puffs, some meat kebabs (awful), some chicken and curry rice (delicious) and finally some Cambodian noodles (amazing). The Cambodian Noodles reminded me of a salad that was as filling as a meat dish. It was both refreshing and filling at the same time with great flavor all the way through.

I also had the pleasure of watching a variety of entertainment from dancers to bands to some Thai Boxing. Thai boxing was definitely the highlight, while the low was undoubtedly this one bands rendition of Apologize. It made my ears hurt.

Sunday I slept in late and then went to Market and got a variety of Fruits and a few veggies. I also did my laundry. I then got back did some homework and took a nap. Afterwords I went shopping to the warehouse to get a blanket and a lint roller.

Sunday evening I spent reading and watching a movie overall not getting enough homework done and just relaxing. My flatmates dirties pretty much every dish and pot in the house so cooking took a little bit longer.

At about 11 I realized I hadn’t brought my clothes in and went out to get them. The wind was quite strong.

I woke up Monday morning because I felt the house shaking. not from and earthquake but from the wind. The gusts are incredible here. On my way to classes I was almost knocked over and had to grab a pole for support.

My 1 class went well but I need to catch up on some studying and paper writing. As I write this the wind continues to be strong and I think I am going to head back to the flat before the rain comes.

Cheers!

-Mathias

Oi! (Probably my favorite greeting here)

So my room gets really dirty did the week. I have discovered that fact is pretty much true wherever I live. Normally I put my clothes into three piles (Of which I normally have bins for): pretty clean, definitely dirty, and jackets/coats. Unfortunately here I don’t really have baskets and don’t feel like investing in them so I resort to just willy nilly throwing my clothes wherever and then smell testing. I still am a teenage guy, can’t ya tell?

Well anyways I spent the morning talking to some fam…. as long as they answered their phones. I then proceeded to go into town to do some shopping and exploring. I returned my movies and got 2 new ones to watch. I shopped along cuba street and then headed over to the civic center.

I had never been to the civic center before and it was a nice area. I went to the city art gallery and to be honest was rather bored by the art. There were some cool photos but also a lot of abstract stuff. It was interesting to look at but took like 5 mins. One thing of note was this sound exhibition. There were like 40 speakers set up in this room and the people were singing/chanting. It was funny because there were some older people who were sitting enjoying it and some younger people who were kinda like wtf. I fell in between because it was cool and all but I wasn’t going to sit with my eyes closed and try and enjoy it. It was cool and all but not my favorite cup of hot chocolate (b/c i don’t really care for tea either ).

I then walked to the waterfront and watched someone walk on the water in a zorb ball (I will take a pic the next time I see one) and watched some of the people set-up for the southeast Asian market night, which I will be going to in a few minutes. This was kinda interesting to watch as I have done event set-up before and the slight confusion and last minute changes reminded me of previous events I have run.

I then walked down Lambton quay (key) and walked through a variety of different stores. I also decided to explore the malls that occupy the lower floors of most of the skyscrapers (they are a lot smaller than US ones). This can be a confusing gauntlet of escalators as the mall runs as high as two stories and runs below the street as well. It was kinda cool, but not too crowded as most of the cafes and such catered to corporate people during the week. Still most places were moderately busy.

I spent extensive time in the bookstores looking for things to read. I am considering attempting to improve my rather weak Spanish speaking skills. I also took the time to read a USA tour book about Atlanta and that was definitely interesting and really accurate.

I then walked back toward Queen’s wharf and saw the Steve Irwin! Many of you may know this ship from Whale Wars and to be honest I never thought I would see it in Person. I mean it is one ship in the world. So I went and got in line for a tour. While waiting the wind picked up to gail force and it got rather cold. It was still awesome to see the ship and we got a tour from one of the deckhands. We got to see the helicopter, bridge, and mess as well as the inner corridors of the ship. It was interesting seeing something I had seen on TV.

Afterwords I walked back, took a quick nap, and now I am writing this. I will spend the the rest of my evening at the SE Asia fair, planning for Spring Break, and watching another movie. Hopefully the weather holds tomorrow and I can do my laundry!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Saturday!

All the best!

-Mathias

Hello All,

Thursday started out pretty average. It was a little cold in the morning so I had to wear jeans. I went to class, paid attention, and then proceeded to answer e-mails and take care of other administrative stuff. Most of it concerns Georgia Tech and I find myself filling out more forms for them then for Victoria! But that is to be expected as I have to maintain a life and presence at home as well as here.

I proceeded home and typed up my notes for Philosophy 104 because I have an upcoming test. My normal strategy is to take notes in class, type them, and then spend most of my time studying the class power points and using my personal notes as additional information. Although it takes longer to write, then type it means I have to see the material more than once and thus cuts down on my study time.

Thursday night I watched Slumdog Millionaire (Yes I know…. finally) and found it to be interesting. I was warned by the Indians that I know to take it with a shaker of salt and I did. I found it to be interesting and well filmed but it definitely only showed the bad parts of India (not that I know from first hand experience but you can pretty well tell).

Thursday night I also cooked some mince to go with my homemade pasta sauce I made on Sunday. It was frozen so there was a lot of smoke while I was cooking it. Unfortunately I set off the fire alarm. The funny thing was as soon as I heard it go off I heard the trucks from the fire station turn on there alarms. I got concerned that they were coming here so I called 111. I was relieved to find out that wasn’t the case and made sure to open the doors and windows to get better ventilation.

Friday was actually a beautiful day and sense I start late I decided to sleep in. I went to class but couldn’t really focus as it was back to back philosophy day as well as the fact that it was beautiful outside. I had an interview at 1:50 to see if I would be involved in the Faculty Committees organized through VUWSA. I think they are kinda a big deal and I hope to get picked. One of the things I really wanted to see was the background organization of the university and bring some new ideas back to Tech for improvement.

The interview went really well and was conducted by 3 other students and lasted for 5 mins over the allotted time. I answered all of their questions completely truthfully, a bit of a change from my normal style which would have definitely been to gloss over some of my more negative opinions. They seemed to react positively and I will find out next week if I got in.

I have yet to join another on campus club. I probably need to get around to doing it. The justifications I have used thus far are the fact that many of the clubs I wanted to join occur during times when I have classes. From a rational POV this just means that I need to pick different clubs to join but I personally am not at the completely rational level yet.

I spent Friday afternoon basking in the glory that is Oriental Bay. It was beautiful and surprisingly there was little wind. This might seem like a good thing as after awhile you get used to the gale force winds, but I found the lack of wind annoying as it made the little no-see um bugs come out. Anyways I had a good time and took a wonderful nap.

Friday night I attempted to cook French Toast. It didn’t turn out too terrible awful. I added the cinnamon directly to the bread during cooking and it started to burn and smoke as well (I was hoping NOT to set off the alarm this time) but served it with Jelly as I had no maple syrup.

I watched Knocked Up, which was quite hilarious, and then began to plan for my trip at around 10:00 PM. In case you didn’t know my spring break (fall break…. its debatable) starts on April 1st and Lasts till the 18th.

I decided I will spend the entirety of the time in the South Island exploring. Currently I leave early on the 1st of April on the Inter-islander to Picton, then am on a Bus to Nelson, staying in Nelson, then on a shuttle to the Abel Tasman National Park where I am going to hike down the coastal trail til Monday the 5th. Past that I haven’t booked but tentatively plan to go to Picton by bus, take the train to Christchurch (CC), and more.

I will let you all know the details as they come along and that way when I don’t turn up I can have multiple Americans calling the emergency hot line informing them to look for the kid in the Georgia Tech clothes.

I will cover my Saturday in the next post!

Hope all is well! The weekend weather is supposed to be beautiful so I hope you all get to enjoy it!

All the best!

-Mathias

Hey All,

Although this will go to the bottom I wanted to apologize for being silent for a couple of days. I was actually doing some school work and studyding.

Wednesday morning was wet and rainy but I met Mary for Coffee at this cafe called Mojo off of Kent Terrace, only about 5 minutes away from the flat. We had coffee for an hour and discussed lots of NZ things. I had a delicious hot chocolate because 1. I don’t care for regular coffee or expresso (which is extremely popular here) and 2. Hot Chocolate is like a comfort drink. It was above average, nothing to write home about (hehe), and was served with little hard marshmellows.

I then proceeded to return my Movie from the night before Surrogate with Bruce Willis. Because I have recently seen the Matrix, my expectations were high. I found it to be rather short (Only like 80 mins) with a fairly compelling story and some rather good plot twists.

I then sat in class for the next two hours and emerged to a beautiful sunny day. Wellington reminds me a lot of Atlanta in the fact that you really never know how the day is going to turn out.

I proceeded to walk downmountain (seriously it is like a few hundred feet change in elevation) to the Pipitea campus and to find the correct room. Apparantly Victoria University occupies much of the upperfloors of the Railway Station.

I found the room after exploring the building and using the restroom (which had a cool view of the railway platforms). My tutorial was like nothing I had ever experienced before in my life and I wish I had acutally recorded it.

The tutor was foreign, Indian I think, and spoke pretty good english. She explained a little about herself and then covered some material from the lectures. We then were suppossed to break up into small groups and answer some questions from the book. Problem was there were only 3 books for the class of 20. (As an aside, lets be honests students aren’t going to lug our books to class unless it is reheally necessary)

So we asked her to write the questions on the board so everyone could know what questions to answer. She said that it would take too much time. However, not all groups had books and thus has no idea of the questions and after a few minutes she relented.

When it came time to answer the questions was the fun part. She would ask someone to answer the question they would then answer and she would want more answer immediately after. She kept going like this getting lots of answers from the first group and fewer as we went on. In between getting answers she would spought some random facts that were highly debateable. (For example one I wrote down was that all companies are only focusing on developing markets. I was like I’m pretty damn sure that is a terrible statement.) She finally got to our group and pretty much everything had been said. So our elected speaker (I really wasn’t about to do it) reiterated some points that had been made and brought up like 1 or 2 new ones. She responded by saying that those had already been said and that our group needed new answers. We informed her that everything relevant had been covered. She then proceeded to make some slight humours at that fact and then moved on to the next question.

We started the next questions and answered a very straightforward question with a sraightforward consise opinion. She then told our group that that wasn’t enough and then proceeded to the next group whilst still occassionally throwing out random facts and attempts at humour.

By this time I am cracking up. You may not be because I really think this was a had to be there moment, but it was hilarious as some students were trying to write the stuff she was saying down, while others just sat there in disbelief.

I was defnitely glad when that hour was over and then proceeded to the actual class. Class was fine and the lecturer did a good job of covering the topic.

During this class I received a text from Mary informing me that Ross’s (her husband) social volleyball team was short one person and wanted to know if I wanted to play.

I of course said yes and after class powerwalked home to pack and catch the 23 bus. I caught the bus and had a wonderful conversation with a woman who used to work in a zoo and arrived at their home.

There house has a view over Oriental Bay, right next to the Airport, and I watched the kite and wind surfers out in the Bay. They were absolutely amazing and the air they got was incredible!

I then went inside and we had dinner (lamb chops, potatoes, and green beans with ice cream for dessert). I absolutely love learning about the family unit in NZ and the differences b/w American families, but that is a topic for later.

I left with Ross at 7:15 for the gym. It had three courts and was located about 5 minutes from their house. We arrived and there were three games already going on (they have continues play for like 3 hrs) and we began to stretch and warm up.

I met the other people on the team, three were significantly older (40’s) while the other two were younger (late 20’s). You called your own fouls but did have a scorekeeper. I played fairly well, had a good run of serving, but was confused by their five man return. Essentially, they did not play a ten foot line rule and thus dropped 5 out of six player back for the return. It was very confusing as it was hard to tell which ones were who’s with that many people dropped.

In the states the most we (our group that plays together) is 4 and that is only when it is a really good server AND we have lost a few too many serves in a row.

Ross drove me home afterwords and I spent the rest of the evening studying and watched “Australia” with Kate Hudson. It was very good and a highly recommend it.

Cheers!

One day before St. Patrick’s day! I am pretty sure Wellington is going to be rather intoxicated the rest of the week!

Of note over the past two days:

Went shopping for the first time in Wellington. Got some NZ shirts to fit in with the population (Yes my I’m an American shirt stood out), and did a lot of browsing. I went to my first army surplus store ever, so that was interesting.

Then I went to New World (the supermarket) because I had this immense craving for Mexican food. I got some more Greek Yogurt (delicious btw), tortillas, and some mince.

I got back to the flat and decided to go to the beach, which is really an easy decision. Went to the beach for about 2.5 hours got some tone and talked to Brandon. Brandon got accepted into TUJ! (Which oddly enough reminds me of JU, because of the lettering)

Any who had a good time walking back barefoot and overall just in a good mood.

My Mexican food was delicious and packed full of Fiber, seeing as how it hasn’t passed through my system yet! I had fresh onions, tomatoes, kidney beans, capsicoms, and corn in tortillas with the aforementions homemade (not by me) picante salsa. It was delicious!

I went to tutorial this morning and got there right on time because I choose to sleep in later than I ought to ove (Is this a word?). So when I got to the tutorial room there were like 3 spots left. The tutorials are base don group discussion and ours was lackluster at best.

It was me, two girls, and three guys. The three guys were those type of people. Even though we where in a group of six they proceeded to talk to themselves about our objective. It was really annoying and instead of my normal strategy of passively aggressivel bringing the gorup together through questioning I called them directly on it. It was surprisingly successful and we had decent conversation about Justified True Belief and Reliabalism (Philosophy stuff I plan to forget).

Later in the lecture for Philosophy I found that there were more of those people. (I think everyone has a definition of those people, but for now just imagine). The people who ask questions or explain something when no explanation is needed. Granted there were people who asked relevant though provoking questions but those were few and far between.

Otherwise though my day has been great! I am working on internalizing the weather and walked to class smiling the whole way. There is great power in thoughts and memories and they can definetely be used to agment your mood.

Later today I really need to do some reading I have choosen to put off. I think I might do it at the beach. Or maybe just take a nap. Relaxing and enjoying life is really easier in NZ.

Ohh and I miss American TV. Badly!

All the best!

-Mathias

Hello Again,

(I really need a better way to get these started but w/e). On Saturday I woke up to a very bright cloudless day in Wellington (Fairly typical). I spent the morning talking to fam and friends back home an preparing for the day. I took a walk down the waterfront and found that there was a childrens festival going on in Frank Kitts Park. There was wonderful live music and lots of kids playing on the provided obstacle courses.

The music was American, the band wasn’t, and my favorite was there rendition of Sweet Home Alabama. It was honestly one of the last songs I expected to be heard in NZ. It was really interesting to because there were lots of people just sitting there enjoying the sun and music. It really made me realize the focus on the present.

I continued down the boardwalk to WestPac stadium for the One-day International (ODI) Cricket game featuring the NZ Blackcaps versus the Australians. I arrived about 30 minutes into the game and was dissapointed to find I was on the side away from the sun.

There were two dads sitting next to me with there 3 kids and we had some good conversation. Ozzy (one of the dads) had even been to Atlanta on multiple occasions so it was cool when he new about the Hawks, the Georgia World Congress Building, and Coke HQ. He didn’t know about GT but I wasn’t entirely too surprised.

The game of cricket was interesting a little slow, but still good to watch. The stadium sat 35000 and felt rather intimate. I was very impressed because they had the larger stadium bathrooms I had ever seen. As in they planned AHEAD when they built this stadium.

The dad’s (Ozzy and Stuart I think) offerred me some of there homemade pies and cookies. They were delicious. I supplemented these with Chips (Hot Friend) and a Chicken Burger. I was glad I had cash bc the atms didnt work for my bank and they didn’t take EFTPOS.

People wear wierd outfits to the game. Not as wierd as Secens apparantly but still unique none the less. There were people in Pig Outfits, among others. As the game continued the crowd got routier, defintely due to the copius amounts of alcohol consumption that undoubtedly began that morning.

I very much enjoyed this english tradition but I don’t think I will be going to the test match (which lasts for five days!).

On Sunday I went to the Market again and bought lots of fruit which is slightly more expensive than veggies, but still less than half of supermarket prices. I got some kiwi fruit (delicious), mangos, and an avocado among other things. I also bought a dozen free range (they are big on animal rights here) for the price of six!

I then went home and proceeded to wait for the bus to Kilbirnie, as I didn’t feel like walking around the mountain. I waited for about 30 mins for the bus and had a quick 10 minute ride over.

I expected this to be a much smaller festival than the Newtown festival that week and it was. It however was muhc more homey feeling and allowed you easier access to the vendors.

I purchased a Hand Painted ceramic crab (bc I have crabs, no it is just my sign ), a hand knitted yellow and black beanie (great for GT!), and some fresh from the garden homemade picante saue (delcious). I also had some pork fried rice, curry chicken kebabs, and this delicous soft serve ice cream made in this cool machine.

Also, the live music was exceptional at this festival. I sat for about an hour listening to this one band. They didn’t do American music but it was very chill and enjoyable.

When I got back I took a nap (I stayed up too late on Saturday). I reflcted on how enjoyable the quality of life was here in NZ. People live in the moment and sincerly enjoy themselves. It is a wonderful feeling and has made me happy even til now.

Sunday Night I cooked a vegetable pasta sauce and made some egg fried rice (It would have been chicken friend rice but my chicken went bad). The fried rice was delcious!

Also, I should take a minute to explain the dairy across the street. Imagine having a mini supermarket across the street that has pretty much e verything you could need. It is wonderful seeing as I didn’t have soy sauce, and they did! They charge you for it but it is defientely worth it!

I am planning on this week ahead being a good one! I hope everyone is doing well back home and I look forward to hearing from you! (Yes this means you!)

Ohh and fingers crossed for Brandon getting accepted into Temple University of Japan in Tokyo!!!!

All the best!

-Mathias

Hello All,

On Friday I went to my international business workshop. We watched a video for 30 minutes on globalization and then broke up in groups to discuss. I guess it is a universal theme that people don’t like to take charge. I was in a group of about 15 students and like normal decided not to take the lead as to not box out others from being heard. When no one said anything after about 5 minutes I decided I was going to have to start the conversation. I had everyone introduce themselves but after that all but 3 of them were silent.

That being said the Kiwi people seem to be in a cultural middle between the US and the UK. They don’t like things as small as the British but not as big as the Americans. They seem to be appropriately sized.

After the little discussion we had to present our groups ideas to the class and again I wound up having to do it because no one else wanted to. It is a universal idea that people don’t want to stand up for themselves for fear of being wrong!

After class I went to the waterfront for a sit. It was a little cloudy but still sunny. I was there for about 30 mins when I felt a couple drops of rain. I decided then to leave even though it was still partially sunny.

As I turned the corner towards my flat I saw only black clouds in the sky. I put my bag down grabbed my fleece jacket and put it on over the bag. In the next 5 seconds the storm hit.

The winds are much worse then I though they could be and even saw a little kid get knocked down. I began running towards home and had to pause behind buildings where permitted. Almost no one was on the streets as everyone had dashed inside.

I arrived at the flat about 10 mins later completely soaked through and freezing. I still had a smile on though because it was a little fun running against the wind.

I took a hot shower to warm back up and watched the rain pour the rest of the night!

I defintely will not be caught in the storm without a jacket again!

It’s already Friday here in NZ!

Last night I had my first experience with the Wellington rain. It started about 5 mins after I arrived at my flat (thank goodness) and continued through the night.

My flatmate told me that NZ was once called the Island of the long cloud by the Maori. I could tell why. The clouds formed a perfect gray background obscurring the mountains, hills, and even the bay.

The rain was nice but has mad it fairly colder here. I am still in shorts but it is much cooler.

Went to classes today and have 1 more workshop. I really don’t understand philosophy. At least at this point I see almost no real world application of what has been taught in my Argument and Analysis class. It is all epistomology and quite boring. I am not alone in that belief and am quite certain that I do not ever want to go into philosophy. In two weeks we start ethics which should be a much better discussion than knowledge.

Going to a cricket game this weekend as well as another festival. Got a few applications and forms to fill out for home that are due soon. It is kinda strage living in both worlds. In order to position myself for this next Fall I have to continue to be involved now.

One of the things I have noticed about the NZ eductional system is that the students are much less organized than in the US. A prime example of this is the fact that there are no 2 hole puches (the paper is different here) availiable to students. Most people write in Journals that have little adjustable organization. I miss my color coded binders and page dividers. (Yes I do go to GT).

Also, as many of you may know I am pretty good at playing the educational system game. It is a game indeed, it has rules and you can win or lose. One of my techniques that I have discovered universal involves the lecturer or Professor of the class. During the course of the first few weeks the Professor identififes friendly faces with which to confirm thoughts. I am not sure if they do this on purpose or subconciosly but they do it anyhow. The key is to look interested, but still look disintereted. To be following along but not hanging on every word. After awhile you will notice that when explaining a complex topic they will check with you (normally by making eye contact) that you are understanding. I am that (or one of those, my perspective is not that grand) for two of my classes.

This key positioning allow the professor to know who you are without actually introducing yourself. It works well with my strategy to not introduce yourself in the first two weeks of a class. This strategy however does not work on very confident Professors who usually don’t need any confirmation of if they are doing a good job.

Well, I am off to International Business and hope all of you back in the US are doing well!

All the best!
-Mathias

Hello World!

Since I arried in New Zealand I have attempted to follow the Philosophy that “Everything will work itself out.” That is not to say that I haven’t been proactive in the process just that I endeavored to relax more and to worry about the specifics and details less. In other words to lose a bit of my Americaness :).

Such examples included not really knowing which specific bus to take from the airport, but having knowledge of the fact that there was one, and not exactly knowing if the university was going to find me when I got off the overlander train from Auckland.

So far the philosophy has worked out. I have put in my effort but have never really worried about my situation. That is until last Saturday.

I received an e-mail from my parents telling me they’d received a letter from Tech saying that the University needed to recieve a confirmation letter to my acceptance to the Technology and Management Program (http://mgt.gatech.edu/programs/under/tm/index.html).

I immediately got concerned and worried about them not receiving my confirmation knowing that I had sent and they had received the confirmation I faxed 4 days prior.

It really got me thinking as to whether or not my core philosophy had changed or had merely had slight surface change. To be honest I don’t really know.

I find myself doing my work for my classes and still being happy and not overly stressed. But is it merely a product of being in the NZ culture, or is it because of me?

I don’t think I will know the answer to that question until I leave but I sincerly hope that I am successfully able to adapt part of the NZ culture into the rest of my life!

Cheers!

-Mathias